Wrapper preparing mechanism for cigar machines



Aug. 13, 1946. H. H. WHEELER WRAPPER PREPARING MECHANiSM FOR CIGAR MACHINES Fi1ed Dec. 20, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR HENRY l1.w EL 3 BY I TTORNEY Filed Dec. 20, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR HEN RY H.WHEELER Aug 13, 1946. H. H, WHEELER- WRAPPER PREPARING MECHANISM FOR CIGAR MACHINES 7//////l///////////////I////4l/a///////9////////////1///// ORNEY Aug 13, 1946. H. H. WHEELER WRAPPER PREPARING MECHANISM FOR CIGAR MACHINES Filed Dec. 20, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INV EN TOR. HENRY H. WHLER ATTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 13, 1946 WRAPPER PREPARING MECHANISM FOR 7 CIGAR MACHINES Henry H. Wheeler, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to International Cigar Machinery Company, a corporation of New Jersey Application December 20, 1940, Serial No. 370,923

10 Claims.

- 1 This invention relates to cigar machines; more particularly to mechanisms for cutting sections from leaf tobacco spreadon the die of the cutting bed. The main object of the invention is to provide an improved mechanism for cutting wrappers wherein a reciprocatory member underlying the wrapper cutting bed has an upwardly extending arm carrying a set of cutting rollers in a position above said member to sever a wrapper from leaf tobacco on said cutting bed. In prior constructions, wherein the cutting rolls are supportedon a swinging arm which carries them to and fro over the die, the friction of the rolls upon the die is considerably greater dueto the overhang of the arm from its pivot. Moreover the arcuate movement of the cutting rolls over the flag end of the die occasionally cut the flag end of the wrapper improperly.

Another object is to provide a safety device for interrupting the movement of the cutter rolls over the die when there is an obstruction, such as the attendants hand in their path, during their forward or backward movement. To this end there is provided a device for incapacitating the mechanism for traversing the cutter rolls whenever there is an obstruction in the path of the cutter during their forward or return stroke and automatically rehabilitating said mechanism in the same cycle of the machine. Alternatively, in a modified construction, the movement of the cutter rolls will be interrupted until the obstruction is removed, and. then will be resumed. 7 With these and other objects not specifically mentioned in view the invention consists in certain constructions and combinations hereinafter fully described and then specifically set forth in the claims hereunto appended. In the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification and in which like characters of reference indicate the same or like parts: i

Fig. l is a side elevation showing the improved Wrapper preparing mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional end elevation on line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the cutter roller mechanism;

Fig.4 is a sectional detail view of a portion of the device of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional end elevation of a modified form of mechanism for actuating thecutter rolls;

Fig. 6 is a cross-section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3; and a I Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the structure shown inFig. 5.

- Referring to Fig. 1, leaf tobacco W is served by an operator to one of the dies II! of an intermittently reVOlVing duplex die turret H, such as disclosed in my application Serial Number 183,405, filed January 5, v1938, on which Patent No. 2,316,828 was issued April 20, 1943. At the completion of one-half revolution, the turret dwells and the wrapper W is cut from the served leaf by the transverse movement of the cutting rollers I2 and I3 across the die. After the return of the cutting rollers to their starting position as seen in Fig. 1, the die head II) with the cut wrapper W ascends to a'position (not shown) to engage with the bottom surface of a wrapper carrier (not shown) of the type disclosed in the above mentioned application, which at the time is in receiving position above'the die. The transfer of the wrapper W from the die to the carrier is performed in the same manner as disclosed in my application heretofore mentioned and therefore a more complete description of the same is deemed unnecessary.

The wrapper cutter unit is mounted on a stud I4, Figs. 1, 2 and 3, supported by a bracket I5 having ,a base It so formed and fitted as to slide along .the. rail or slideeway ll of a pedestal l8 secured to the bed I9 of the machine, the rail ll underlying the die dwelling at the wrappercutting station and the bracket I5 having a portion overhanging said die. The slide bracket I5 is provided with gibs 2c and 2| holding the same in engagement with its rail and the gib 2I also serves to support one end of a link 22 connecting to the upper end of a lever 23 loosely mounted on a sleeve 24 slipped over a stationary shaft 25 of the machine, A cam lever 26, which is also loosely mounted on sleeve 24, at its upper end carries a cam roller 21' engaging in a track 28 of a drum cam 29 which is fastened on a driven shaft 30 of the machine. A washer 3| made from leather or similar material is placed between the hubs of the wrapper cutter operating lever 23 and the cam lever 26 and serves as a friction clutch, so that in case of an obstruction in the path of the wrapper cutting rolls I2 and IS, the main lever 23 can stop'while permitting the cam lever 26 to continue its stroke without serious injury to said rollers or to the obstruction, which might be the operators hand. 7

The frictional engagement of levers 23 and 2B is maintained by means of a nut 32 on the end of sleeve 24, said nut being so adjusted as to normally permit the above mentioned levers to travel in unison but the adjustment should be so set that .the lever 23 can be stalled when the cutting rolls 3 encounter an obstruction in their path. A nut 33 is provided to lock the members in position after the final adjustments have been made.

A bracket 34, Figs. 1 and 2, attached to or forming a part of bed It) may be arranged to arrest the backward travel of slide i and thereby reset the slide in its original position relative to the cam lever Zt, in case the movement of the cutter rolls has been obstructed during their forward travel over the die and the slide thereby displaced relative to cam lever 26. A similar bracket I34 may be arranged at the other end of the path of the slide IE to re-set the slide in its original position, in case the movement of the cutter rolls has been obstructed during the return or backward stroke of the slide.

The cutting rolls [2 and I3, Figs. 1 and 3, turn on studs 36 and 31', respectively, which on one end are eccentric to their larger bearing portion so that the rolls can be accurately aligned with the die surface IE1. Since the mounting of said rollsjis the same as shown and described in my application, Serial Number 243,799, filed December 3, 1938, on which Patent No; 2,287,004 was issued June 16, 1942, a detailed description of the same is omitted in the interest of brevity. The stud 38 is pivotally supported from stud M by a bracket 33 having bearings 39 connected by a web ill while the "stud 31 is similarly supported by a bracket Mhaving a bearing 42.

A bracket 43 having bearingsd l is secured to stud Hi and is provided with an extension 55 supporting two stop screws 46 and d? which engage the tail portions 48 and 49 extending from web 40 and hub 42, respectively. Bracket 43 also has wings 59, Figs. 3 and 4, carryingadjus'ting screws 51 which are provided to bear against the end of compression springs 52. confined in apertures 53 in the corner portions 54' of bracket 38, said springs tending to holdtail 43 in engagement with stop screw 45. The bracket 43 is equipped with adjusting screws 55 adapted to bear against the end of compression springs 55 confined in apertures 57 provided in lugs 58 of bracket 4|, said springs tending tomaintain the engagement of tall 49 with stop screw 31. By

turning the stop screws 45 and 41 and also screws SI and 55, the'vertical position of the cutting rolls l2, l3 and their tension against the die surface can be precisely adjusted to provide the proper pressure for cutting various grades of leaf tobacco.

The present adjustment of the cutting rolls is an improvement over previous arrangements'in that the adjusting members are more accessible thereby permitting the operator to quickly and with less trouble make the necessary adjustments from time to time to accommodate different conditions,

Referring to Figs. 5 and '7, acam actuated lever (not shown) is connected by a link 96 to a rack 91, which meshes with a gear 98 and thereby causes the reciprocation of a chain 99, and hence of the carrier l 30 of the cutting rollers 2; which is connected to the chain 99 ina manner which will be presently described. The rack 91 actuated by thelink'95 meshes with a'gear. 98 loosely mounted on the hub of a second gear 349 mounted on a stud 336 supported by a frame 33! attached to bed plate 236. 'The gear 349 meshes with a gear 338fast on a shaft 339 turning in a bearing of frame 331 and carrying a' sprocket 340. This sprocket drives the chain 99 which extends from one side :or the bed 215 of the wrapper die (Fig. 7) mounted on the turret H5 which has 4 the construction shown in my co-pending application, Serial No. 183,405 on which the above mentioned Patent No. 2,316,828 was issued to a sprocket 341 (Fig. '7) adjacent the other side. To the chain 99, by means of pins 342 protruding therefrom is attached the carriage lflfl which carries a stud 343 to which the holder of the cutter rollers 24B is clamped. The arm I00 is provided with rollers 344 by which it is suspended from a track 345 aifixed to frame 33'! and extending along the chain 98. The gear 349 is detachably fastened in driving engagement with gear 98 by means of a ball-end plunger 346 held by a spring '34! in a steel socket 3&8 inserted into the web of gear 98, this method of attachment constituting a safety device against accidents to the operator, as the plunger 346 will be forced out of socket 348, thus stopping the chain, in case the cutting rollers or their carrier arm encounter a major obstacle. This arrangement provides a desirable and valuable safety control for wrapper or binder preparing mechanisms, since it makes it unlikely for the attendant to be injured seriously by the cutting rolls due to the fact that driving engagement between the carriage I00 and rack 91 is broken whenever an operators hand or other obstruction placed in the path engages with the moving carriage and stops it. Reciprocation of the carriage once being interrupted will not be resumed until gear 93 is rotated to seat pin 346 in socket 348. The construction shown in Figs. 5 and 7 and described above is similar to that shown in my co-- sprocket driving said sprocket chain, a pinion,

a rack meshing with said pinion, a rotatable member coaxial with said pinion and connected to said sprocket, for driving the same, and a device connecting said member and said pinion whereby said member revolves with said pinion and drives said sprocket to reciprocate said support, said device being yieldable to disconnect said pinion and member when there is an obstruction in the path of movement of said cutter roll.

2. In a cigar machine having a cutting die, the combination with a member mounted for rectilinear movement to and fro along said die, a cutter roll supported from said member in position to coact with said cutting die to sever a section from leaf tobacco on the die, a cam lever having a horizontal fulcrum, an arm pivotally mounted on said fulcrum and connected to said member,

1 and a frictional connection interposed between said lever and arm whereby an obstruction having a predetermined minimum resistance in the path of said cutter roll, while the latter is moving forwardly or backwardly, will interrupt the movement of said member through slippag of said arm on the frictional connection between it and said lever.

, 3. In a cigar machine having a cutting die, the combination with a member mounted for rectilinear movement to and fro along said die, acutter roll supported from aid member in position to coact with said cutting die to sever a section from leaf tobacco on the die, a cam-actuated lever, an arm connected to said member, and a frictional connection between said lever and arm whereby an obstruction in the path of said cutter roll will interrupt the movement of said member through slippage of said arm on the frictional connection between it and said lever, and devices disposed at the ends of the path of movement of said member to engage the latter and thereby displace said arm into the position it had with respect to the lever prior to obstruction of said outter roll.

4. In a cigar machine, the combination with a support movable over a cutting die, of a cutter roll carried on said support in position to coact with the cutting die, an actuator for moving said support with the cutter roll over the die, a member connected to said support, a frictional connection between said actuator and said member whereby the movement of said support will be interrupted, while said actuator continues moving, when there is an obstruction in the path of the cutter roll over the die, and means arranged to engage the support and displace it into its initial position relative to said actuator, which it had prior to the obstruction of the movement of said cutter roll over the die.

5. In a cigar machine, a die, a tobacco leaf section cutter cooperating with said die and comprising a carriage, cutting rollers mounted on sald carriage for cooperation with said die, means for reciprocating said carriage to move said rollers across said die, said means including an endless chain attached to said carriage, driving mechanism for reciprocating said chain and a safety device for disconnecting said driving mechanism to prevent movement of said carriage whenever an obstruction is placed in its path.

6. In a cigar machine, a die, a tobacco leaf section cutter cooperating with said die and comprising a carriage, cutting rollers mounted on said carriage for cooperation with said die, mean for reciprocating said carriage to move said rollers across said die, said means including an endless chain attached to said carriage, driving mechanism for reciprocating said chain and a safety device for disconnecting said driving mechanism to prevent movement of said carriage whenever an obstruction i placed in its path, said safety device comprising ball and socket members mounted on the driving mechanism, and means for holding said members in yielding driving engagement.

'7. In a cigar machine, cutting mechanism for forming binders or wrappers from tobacco leaves, comprising a carriage, cutting rollers mounted upon said carriage, and means for reciprocating said carriage at least once during each cycle of said machine, said mean including an endless chain connected to said carriage, driving gears, and a rack coacting with one of said gears for imparting movement to said chain and thereby reciprocating said carriage.

8. In a cigar machine, cutting mechanism for forming binders or wrappers from tobacco leaves. comprising a carriage, cutting roller mounted upon said carriage, and means for reciprocating said carriage at least once during each cycle of said machine, said means including an endless chain connected to said carriage, driving gears, a rack coacting with one of said gears for imparting movement to said chain and thereby reciprocating said carriage, said driving gears including a fixed and a loose gear detachably secured together, and yielding means detachably holding said gears in driving engagement.

9. In a cigar machine having a cutting die, the combination with a horizontal support movable horizontally to and fro underneath said die, an arm extending upwardly from said support, cutting rollers mounted on said arm for movement to and fro above the die and arranged to coact with the die to sever a section from leaf tobacco thereon, an oscillating actuator, an oscillatory member connected to said support, means frictionally connecting said member to said actuator to horizontally move said support to and fro to carry the cutter rollers to and fro over the die, said connecting means being yieldable to permit the oscillatory member to remain stationary and thereby cause termination of the movement of said support while said actuator continues to move, whenever there is an obstruction in the path of the rollers offering a predetermined minimum resistance as they move forwardly or backwardly over the die, and said connecting means operating automatically after removal of the obstruction during the movement of said actuator to cause said member to resume its movement with said actuator and thereby move said support.

10. In a cigar machine having a cutting die, the combination with a horizontal support movable horizontally to and fro along said die, cutter rollers supported from said support for movement to and fro over the die and arranged to coact with the die to sever a section from leaf tobacco thereon, an oscillating actuator, a memher connected to said support and a yielding connection between said actuator and member for moving the latter horizontally to and fro to ca y the cutter rollers to and fro over the die whereby the movement of said support will be terminated, whenever there is an obstruction in the path of the rollers offering a predetermined minimum resistance as they move forwardly or backwardly over the die, while said actuator continues to move whereby said actuator will be displaced relatively to said support, and a device operating automatically after removal of the obstruction, to displace said support to the same position which it occupied relative to said actuator prior to said obstruction of the rollers.

HENRY H. WHEELER. 

